The shower had been on for the last twenty minutes. There was absolutely no reason for a person, on their own, to need twenty gorram minutes for a shower. Mal wasn’t really mad at Kaylee; he just didn’t like being the one to have to talk to her. He agreed that he wasn’t the one who should be there, but it was never the simple. He had been appointed by the rest of the crew; the crew that he was the captain of, it was a hell of a start to the day.

Shaking his head, Mal decided to just deal with it before there was no more water left in the ship. “Kaylee, I need to talk to you a minute,” Mal managed sounding calm over the pounding he was doing on the door. The lack of answer was unnerving, but he pushed through that. “Kaylee, you are alone in there, right, girl?”

“Yes, Capt’n, I am all alone in the general shower room,” Kaylee’s voice was rough from crying as she answered. “Is something wrong with my girl?”

“Only that you are using up all the water,” Mal regretted the words as they carelessly emptied his mouth and head simultaneously. This is why Zoe or Inara should be talking to the girl. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for the last ten minutes.” More like working up the courage, but he wasn’t going to split hairs on this point.

“Sorry, Capt’n,” Kaylee managed despite her less than audible sobbing in the shower. It just felt better to cry in the shower, no one really noticed, there was no tell tale signs afterward, it was great. She didn’t rightly know why she was sobbing again, she and Simon called it quits nearly a month ago, and didn’t last nearly that long. It didn’t really bother her that they weren’t sexin’ any longer, or that they weren’t a couple. She just felt sad was all.

“You okay in there, Lil’ Kaylee?” Mal asked despite not truly knowing what to do if she weren’t. Again, no answer, he really would have rather sent anyone in his place, but he puffed out his chest in a captainy fashion and strode into the general shower room. “Kaylee, I’m pretty close to having a very awkward moment here, so if you could just keep that door on your side closed and shut off the water so that I can hear you all right, I would appreciate it.”

“Oh, sure,” Kaylee sounded a bit shocked, maybe hurt, but she wasn’t sure which.

“Listen, I don’t know what is going on with you right now, and I don’t like not knowing what’s going on in my own ship, so you could prolly do us both a favor in telling me.” Mal said sounding more authoritative than he thought possible as soon as the water stopped.

“Well, I just haven’t been feeling myself lately, that’s all. I’ve been taking good care of Serenity though, Capt’n, no need worryin’ ‘bout her any,” Kaylee answered, sopping wet on the other side of the door.

“Maybe you need some time dirt side, then, or maybe you should see the doc, you could have some sorta sickness,” Mal offered. “All I know is that we’re all worried. Haven’t been seeing you smile in a long time, not even with the fresh food we got on board right now. Been thinking about picking up some passengers, maybe make an honest buck, but you’re just all gloomy, may scare’em all away.”

“Just not feeling like smilin’ lately. Not since Simon and me called it quits,” Kaylee admitted softly.

“Must have been a hard blow for you and all, after waiting for him so long, just to have it not work out,” Mal considered, he hadn’t even known they had broken off their romance. “Can’t says though I am all that shocked, though, you know. I didn’t even know that the two of you had called it quits; he never was all that affectionate. Still, I suppose you must have seen something in him, though can’t for sure tell you what.”

“Oh, Capt’n, he’s all sorts of shiny,” Kaylee defended more out of habit than out of real feeling. She’d noticed that before the end, it was all out of habit, not out of feeling it.

“Guess you’re right, just never thought him to be good enough for you is all,” Mal continued, not knowing where his mouth was going with it, or why he was still inside the general shower. “I do suppose he must be pretty easy on your eyes and all, being all from the Core and all.”

“That ain’t it at all,” Kaylee began, but he was right, that was part of it. “Don’t you worry about me, capt’n, I am all right, not even really upset about not being with him no more anyhow.”

“Then what has my bright brilliant mechanic all doom and gloomin on me?” Mal asked softly.

“Not quite sure,” Kaylee answered honestly. She sighed, all men were pretty much tyensah duh uh-muo, she didn’t want to be talking to the captain about any of this at all, but she figured he would hear about it all sooner or later. “Capt’n, Simon’s dating someone else now, he’s with Inara.”

“Thank you for telling me, Kaylee, no one else did,” Mal groaned. “Guess everyone knows that Inara and I struck out again, not a big deal though.”

“Not a big deal?!” Kaylee nearly shouted loud enough to make Mal jump. “Capt’n, you were so happy when she decided to stay, you… you..”

“No need to remind me, I was there,” Mal managed to sound casual, but that’s how he felt about it. He saw no need to go into great detail about it, but it did sting from time to time, that she came back only to find someone else on his own boat. “We just didn’t work out is all, and there is not much more to be said on it.” Truth was there was a lot he could say on it but letting Kaylee think him heartsick too, would probably help the girl, so he planned on leaving it at that.

“There’s a lot more with it, you and ‘Nara belongs together, that’s there yet. She’s so pretty and all and you’re just so protective and strong for her, it would be so perfect,” Kaylee’s little girl voice ripped at Mal’s heart a little, but he left it.

“Kaylee, I’m supposed to be here, making sure you’re all right, not talking ‘bout my personal life or making you feel all bad for me, dong ma?” Mal was firm, but he could nearly feel Kaylee’s emotion building in the silence she was leaving him. “We good, Lil’ Kaylee?”

“I am so tired of you thinking I am a little girl, Capt’n! I am a grown woman, and I don’t need you looking out for me, cuz the crew is worried that Simon broke my big ole heart in two. He didn’t break my heart, it didn’t work out cuz he’s too busy trying to be all proper to really know how to be with a girl,” Kaylee admitted, yelling. She never really yelled at the captain, but there was a first time for everything. She flung open the door. “You’re just as bad as him, you know?! All worried about how it’s not all that appropriate to be in here, acting all cautious and courteous, but if I were Zoe you’d not even think a thing about seeing her in the shower room, and talking about anything.”

She stood right in front of him, stark naked, still dripping wet from the shower that she had taken her sweet time taking. Mal backed up, not looking, too busy being afraid of the angry woman in front of him to take in her naked state. She looked like she would take him out with a single punch; anger nearly resonated off of her.

“I understand that, Kaylee, I will do good to remember that,” Mal stated softly, calmly, trying to get the tiger in front of him to be the kitty he remembered.

“You will do good to remember that, Capt’n,” Kaylee threw back at him, and realized his eyes were affixed to her face. “I’m naked, ain’t I?”

“Unless you took that shower with your clothes on,” Mal answered smile turning to his face as Kaylee returned to her normal state again. “I’m not looking.”

“Not like I haven’t seen you naked, or you haven’t seen me putting on my dress,” Kaylee smirked at herself, grabbing her pink puffy towel off the hook. “So much for your appropriate distance and talking to me, huh?”

“I’d have to admit that didn’t go exactly to plan. Nothing ever does at that,” Mal’s grin grew as he saw her blushing in front of him. “Guess I have seen you fair close to naked before.” He shook his head and walked out, seeing Kaylee smile despite her blush.